Conference title hangs in the balance for boys soccer

The Columbia Falls Wildcats boys soccer team played through pouring rain with beaming smiles on Sept. 26 to beat the Libby Loggers 9-2 for Senior Night.

Senior Kai Golan scored five goals in the match bringing his career total — and the record — to 68 and assists to 42. Seniors Traic Fainter and Cash Byrd scored one each, and junior River Wolford two. Forward Ben Martin, who has lettered in soccer since his junior year, was recognized alongside the other seniors.

“Their dedication to the program means a lot…” said coach O’Brien Byrd. “They deserve kudos for their patience with such a young team, they’ve been good leaders.”

Byrd said that the Cats will lean heavily on that leadership as they face their rivals, the Whitefish Bulldogs, to determine the winner of the Montana A North conference.

“We’re definitely going into that game positioning ourselves as best we can to win. As coaches, we’re setting them up to be competitive,” Byrd said.

As of Monday, Columbia Falls was 10-1-1 overall (6-1-0) and Whitefish was 10-0-0 (6-0-0). “We’re excited to test our skills against a competitive team - with the conference title on the line,” Byrd said.

The Cats and Dogs will face off in Whitefish on Thursday, Oct. 5 with boys starting at 3:30 p.m.